Sex Addiction Recovery and Therapy

While sex addiction is not an excuse for deceptive and unhealthy choices, these behaviors are often about soothing emotional pain in destructive ways. Sexual compulsivity is complex and often rooted in past unresolved trauma. With courage, focus, support, and determination there is hope and healing for the individual and couple.

— Mari A. Lee, LMFT, Certified Sex Addiction Therapist

Struggling With Sex Addiction: You Are Not Alone

Each week we hear from individuals who report an increasing pre-occupation with surfing the web for porn or on-line affairs which sometimes escalates into unsafe sex, strip clubs, prostitution, massage parlors, adult bookstores, and other sexually compulsive activities.

Clients often share that in spite of the damaging consequences in their life, they are “unable to stop the urges and choices” and share feelings of "secrecy, shame and stress." As one client in recovery stated,

"When I first started working with you at GCS, I felt as if I was living a double life. My family and friends knew me as this great person, but inside I felt like a liar and a loser. Making the call to you was the first step in reclaiming my life and my marriage."

As time and money spent on secret sexual and romantic activities grows out of control and the deception increases, the results can wreak havoc on the person's life. Clients share that they often risk relationships, job security, finances, that they are impacted emotionally, spiritually, and are in fear of negative health and legal consequences. If you can relate to this, you are not alone.

Additionally, betrayed spouses and partners may feel that the term "sex addiction" is an excuse for bad behavior. Given the hurt and devastation many partners experience, this is understandable. While it is important to remember that "sex addiction" is not a current diagnosis in the DSM [the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual that therapists use to diagnosis clients], the term is now a very prevalent part of our every day language. It is also how many clients self identify when seeking treatment for their impulsive choices around sexual acting out.

No matter how one labels compulsive sexual choices, the clients we work with at GCS deal with the very real and devastating consequences of their secret and usually deceptive sexual choices - often confusing intensity for intimacy and hurting themselves and the ones they love. These consequences can include: broken relationships, a pervasive sense of shame and self loathing, arrests, lack of motivation, anxiety, depression, spiritual guilt and emptiness, academic suspension, diminished respect and trust, job loss and other such difficulties. You can learn more about sex addiction by reading the Informed Consent form here.

Helping clients with sex addiction and supporting betrayed partners is our primary area of clinical specialization. If you or a loved one is struggling in this area and you are ready to begin to take back your life, we look forward to working with you step-by-step.

Using focused recovery tools in a confidential environment we will assist you in breaking the hold while moving toward a healthier more balanced life that you are proud of. Reaching out for support is nothing to be ashamed of and we commend your efforts in doing so. As Theodore Roosevelt outlined in this great speech, it is the man [and woman] in the arena doing the hard work that is to be commended:

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

Schedule an Appointment

If you are ready to roll up your sleeves and get started toward healing and recovery from your sexually destructive choices, contact us. To schedule an appointment with a counselor in our Glendora, California offices, or if you have any questions, we welcome your call at 818.521.4370 or via email at info@growthcounselingservices.com